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The crypto market remains cautiously optimistic at the start of the week, with Bitcoin sitting at $114,375 after a choppy session that failed to break above $115,000. Ethereum holds slightly above the $4,000 mark, while several altcoins are shining green; HBAR led with a double-digit pop after ETF headlines, and Litecoin briefly ripped above $107.
The laser focus of the moment is on U.S. ETF launches, the ongoing SEC paralysis during the government shutdown and the drumbeat of Ripple-related institutional news. Retail froth is emerging in unlikely places like Zcash, a signal some of the popular analysts are treating as a late-cycle risk indicator.
TL;DR:
- Ripple-backed Evernorth finalizes 388.7 million XRP deal worth over $1 billion, moving closer to Nasdaq-listed XRP treasury.
- Litecoin ETF breakthrough drives intraday spike above $107.
- Zcash flagged as overbought: Retail euphoria signals distribution phase.
- Evening outlook: BTC stuck at $114,000, watch ETH above $4,000, Solana/ETF headlines next.
XRP: Ripple-backed Evernorth secures $1 billion stack
Evernorth, the newcomer supported by Ripple, has officially amassed more than 388 million XRP, a stash now worth over $1 billion. As a result, it is now the largest institutional vehicle tied to the popular token outside of Ripple itself.
The plan is as follows: list a publicly traded XRP treasury on Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN, using the merger with Armada Acquisition Corp II as the bridge. Among the backers, apart from Ripple, are big names like SBI, Arrington Capital, Pantera and Kraken.
XRP's market cap added about $13 billion after the announcement, and the price has been holding above $2.60 as traders figure out the scale of the accumulation and its impact on the market.
Bottom line? XRP, which has been seen as a payments coin for a long time and has been dealing with lawsuits, is now being talked about as an institutional reserve asset. It is almost there — one step away from being on Wall Street's balance sheets.
Litecoin: "Digital silver" price spikes on LTC ETF news
In a surprising overnight move, Litecoin surged to $107, its highest price in weeks. However, it later pulled back close to the $101 level. This occurred alongside reports that Canary Capital and other issuers are preparing to offer Litecoin and HBAR ETFs on the Nasdaq, while Bitwise is set to debut its Solana staking-enabled ETF on the NYSE.
Despite its developer activity being less active than Solana or Ethereum, the key point here is that Litecoin, once dubbed the "digital silver," is being pulled back into the ETF conversation. The spike suggests that traders are front-running ETF optimism as the SEC is processing registrations on a fast-tracked timeline due to its limited capacity during the shutdown.
It is difficult to say if the momentum will hold. Unlike with HBAR, which surged over 10%, Litecoin and Solana did not show double-digit upside. But the ETF angle gives short-term investment idea that could keep LTC above the $100 mark for now.
Zcash: Retail euphoria warning
Zcash (ZEC) is flashing red on a number of on-chain dashboards. Ki Young Ju shared CryptoQuant's bubble maps, which show that ZEC is in a full distribution phase. This is because spot volumes are surging and a lot of retail investors are chasing the rally above the $200-$300 levels.
"Sorry, but you're retail if you're buying Zcash now," Ju said, making it clear that large holders are offloading into the hype. The surge in retail trading frequency is almost identical to historical tops seen in 2021 and 2022, both of which were followed by brutal drawdowns.
For ZEC, the setup is dangerous. Without structural demand catalysts or ETF speculation, the price action looks more like a speculative blow-off than a sustainable trend. If you are a trader treating it as a long-term hedge, keep in mind that you are going against the bigger institutional distribution.
Evening outlook
The evening outlook is shaped by a market still digesting ETF headlines, with major cryptocurrencies stuck near key levels that will decide where the charts go next:
- Bitcoin (BTC) trades between $114,000 and $115,000, a break over $115,000 points to $117,000, while failure risks a retest to $112,500.
- Ethereum (ETH) must maintain $4,000 to pull flows back in; otherwise, it remains locked in chop.
- XRP is holding above $2.60 on Evernorth momentum; Nasdaq listing or XRP ETF news could be the trigger for the next move.
- Litecoin (LTC) has $100 as its dividing line; intraday swings depend entirely on ETF headlines.
- Solana (SOL) will be driven by VanEck’s filing and Bitwise’s staking ETF launch, both key sentiment tests this week.
- Zcash (ZEC) shows overheated retail activity, rallies in current conditions look more like exit liquidity than a sustainable trend.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team